James Harris, Rams v. Miami 1976

JamesHarrisFanClub

For a little fun time, check out this video of Rams-Dolphins 1976 and enjoy James Harris throwing for 426 yards! The video starts out in the 3rd quarter, but that’s when the fun begins. That Rams OL, wow they were big! And they sure ran a lot of sweeps with McCutcheon, Cappelletti, and Bertleson!

Los Angeles Rams (10-3-1) 0 0 14 17 31
Miami Dolphins (6-8-0) 7 7 7 7 28

James Harris 17 29 436 2 1

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/197610030mia.htm

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Los Angeles Rams

In 1973, Harris was the understudy to veteran John Hadl as the Rams went 12-2 and returned to the playoffs for the first time since 1969 . As the 1974 season began, the Rams offense sputtered under Hadl and the team stood at 3-2 after five games. In an effort to spark the Los Angeles offense, Rams head coach Chuck Knox promoted Harris as the starting quarterback. In his starting debut for the Rams against the San Francisco 49ers, Harris completed 12 of 15 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for another as the Rams won easily, 37-14, at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Two days later, Hadl was then traded to Green Bay, and Harris became the Rams’ first-string quarterback for the remainder of the 1974 season. The football world was stunned by the bold move. However, Harris came through by leading the team to seven wins in its last nine regular season games. He led the team to its second straight NFC Western Division title, and their first playoff victory (19-10 over the Washington Redskins) since 1951. Harris thus became the first African-American quarterback to start and win an NFL playoff game. The Rams lost the NFC Championship Game to the Minnesota Vikings 14-10, as the Vikings were aided by some controversial officiating.[citation needed] Harris was named to the NFC Pro Bowl team in 1974 and was awarded MVP of that game.

The strong-armed Harris was somewhat stymied by Ram coach Knox’s conservative, “run-first” offensive philosophy,[citation needed] but still helped lead the team to another division title in 1975. However, he injured his shoulder very early in the Rams’ Week 13 win over the Green Bay Packers; backup Ron Jaworski then led the Rams to wins against Green Bay and the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, as well as to a 35-23 win over the St. Louis Cardinals in the divisional playoff game. Stating that a “player cannot lose his starting job due to injury”,[citation needed] Knox named Harris the starter for the NFC Championship games vs. Dallas, as he appeared to be recovered from his injury. Harris’ first pass was intercepted, and after one more incompletion and a Dallas 21-0 first quarter lead, he was pulled in favor of Jaworski. It didn’t matter as Dallas went on to a 37-7 win.

Harris’ injuries continued to give him problems in the 1976 season. The Rams went with three quarterbacks; Harris, Jaworski, and rookie Pat Haden from USC. With Harris injured, Jaworski opened the season as the starter and was injured in the opener. Haden led the team to a comeback tie against the Minnesota Vikings in the second game. Harris, with his throwing shoulder mended, reclaimed his starting job and led the team to two wins, including a 436-yard passing performance against the Miami Dolphins. However, in the next game, on Monday night at home against the San Francisco 49ers, Harris was sacked 10 times and re-injured his shoulder as the Rams were shut out 16-0 at home for the first time since moving to Los Angeles. The Jaworski/Haden platoon led the team to two more wins, then Harris returned again for a win over the then-first-year Seattle Seahawks and a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Against the Bengals, however, Harris played poorly, and Knox was forced by Rams owner Carroll Rosenbloom to go with Haden as the starter for the rest of the season. The Rams won three out of four and the NFC West division title in spite of the change. Knox was forced to go with Haden in the 1976 playoffs, even though Harris was healthy enough to see action late in the season, including a season-ending comeback win over the Detroit Lions. However, Knox had to restrict the Ram offense to compensate for Haden’s inadequacies ( Haden was 5-10 and could barely throw the ball fifty yards downfield). The Minnesota Vikings took full advantage of this in the NFC title game and easily beat the Rams 24-13 to advance to Super Bowl XI. Ironically, despite his benching, Harris finished the season as the NFC’s top-rated passer. It was the first time a black quarterback ever led his conference in that category.